Kazakhstan’s decision to establish the production of NATO-standard artillery shells on its own territory is an unfriendly step toward Russia.

Axar.az reports that this was stated by First Deputy Chairman of the Russian State Duma’s Defence Committee, Aleksey Zhuravlyov.

“We try not to notice how a republic that appears brotherly has so quickly abandoned not only the Russian language but also the Cyrillic alphabet. We also try not to see how they are setting up ‘yurts’ to support Ukraine. Now they are switching to NATO ammunition standards and are openly planning to abandon Russian weapons in the future and replace them with Western arms,” he said.

Zhuravlyov recalled that Kazakhstan joined the North Atlantic Cooperation Council in 1992 and in 1994 signed a framework agreement with NATO called “Partnership for Peace.”

“An immediate question arises: why is NATO so interested in Kazakhstan? Perhaps because it borders Russia and could be turned into another Russophobic outpost? We all know what such cooperation with NATO has meant for Kyiv,” he added.

It should be noted that a senior Kazakh military official told RTVI television that the combat readiness of the country’s army currently depends on Soviet-era stockpiles as well as Russian supplies. To ensure its own ammunition supply, Kazakhstan has decided to build four military plants under the ASPAN national project to produce artillery ammunition and mines not only to Russian standards, but also to NATO standards.